F.A.Q.

A Virtual Assistant (or VA) is a solopreneur who specializes in providing ongoing, one-on-one, collaborative-style administrative support. Like other professional service providers, Virtual Assistants operate remotely from their own places of business and utilize today’s technology to deliver their services and communicate with clients.

Virtual Assistants are first and foremost administrative experts. Virtual Assistants sometimes offer additional, separate specialties that fall under creative and/or technical services.

Virtual Assistants come from a variety of business backgrounds, but the single-most important qualification the industry expects of its peers is at least five (5) years administrative experience earned in the real (non-virtual) business world working in upper-level capacities such as administrative assistant, executive assistant, secretary, legal assistant, paralegal, legal secretary, real estate assistant, office manager/supervisor, etc.

From this level of experience, a Virtual Assistant is expected to possess the skill sets, training and business knowledge which are the hallmark of a truly qualified Virtual Assistant.

Virtual Assistant Definition from the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce

Consider the following five points and if you agree with one or more then virtual assistance will help you spend less time on administrative and marketing tasks and more time on clients.

• You are overwhelmed and do not want to hire an employee
• You work out of your home and cannot afford the office space or equipment
• You travel a lot and office management tasks are getting neglected
• You are disorganized and don’t know where to being
• You do not have time for the tasks at hand

First off, you only pay for the time spent working on a project or task and therefore this translates into 100% productivity. Because we utilize our years of experience and the latest technology, we accomplish more in less time. We use time tracking software so we know exactly how much time is spend on any particular task at any given time.
We are also independent contractors and not your employee to save in the following ways:

• Pay only for the time and material spent on your projects
• No payroll, taxes, vacation or benefits
• No physical workspace or additional equipment needed
• No down-time payments (coffee breaks, personal phone calls, etc.)
• No staffing headaches

Taking all this into consideration, we can save you 2-3 times the cost of a full-time employee.

Almost any type of business can work successfully with virtual assistants. Industries that work will and rely on My Office Assistant are:

• Accountants
• Artists
• Authors
• Coaches
• Consultants
• Contractors
• Not for Profit organizations
• Sales representatives
• Small business owners and entrepreneurs
• Web based businesses

My Office Assistant works with you in a collaborative relationship, or partnership, in order to determine which processes and systems to implement which will help you be more focused, organized and therefore more productive. Throughout our working relationship, we communicate clearly to each other so that all expectations are met and exceeded. As our relationship develops, success is achieved for both of us and we will continue to help you grow and achieve your goals.

No, we work from our own office and because of this; there is no need for additional office space or equipment. We will communicate with you via email, telephone, instant messaging, etc. We carry the most up-to-date equipment and software to service all of your needs. In the event that we do not have a program that you require, we will make arrangements to secure what is needed for a successful partnership.

Every client and business need is different, so the amount of time you require depends on you. We do set a one hour minimum for the month. We also offer project contracts for those short term working relationships without any additional commitment. For our long term need clients we offer reduced rate retainer packages that are based on the hours needed per month.

Before we begin any working relationship, we provide you with a complimentary consultation to determine the needs of your business. During this call we will devise an action plan for you, and if need be suggest services that will help you. There is never any obligation or pressure to use our services and if we feel you need direction only will provide this to you.

We provide you with a sounding board for what concerns and problems that you may be having. Sometimes it is as simple as a few suggestions to streamline your processes and others it is benefiting from the use of our services.

We also believe that honesty is the best policy and if we cannot provide you with a solution to your particular need, we will help you find someone that will.